Nurses, midwives have two weeks to vote on revised pay offer

The New Zealand Nurses Organisation's 29,500 DHB members will have the opportunity to vote on the offer between Tuesday June 5 and Friday June 15. Photo / File

Nurses and midwives have two weeks to vote on whether to accept the Government's revised pay offer or to go ahead with the two-day strike planned for July.

The offer put forward saw all New Zealand Nurses Organisation's DHB members getting at least a nine per cent pay rise by August next year.

NZNO have now said the final decision will come down to a majority vote of its members that will be announced Monday June 17.

Initial reactions to the DHBs' third offer suggested a strike would still go ahead with some members going as far to say it was "an absolute joke".

But after breaking it down, Industrial Services Manager Cee Payne said NZNO were hearing more positive commentary.

New Zealand Nurses Organisation's industrial services manager Cee Payne. Photo / File

"It is a substantially improved offer and I think we have to acknowledge that DHBs didn't just offer recommendations of the independent panel but they went a step further," Payne said.

The organisation's 29,500 DHB members will have the opportunity to vote between Tuesday June 5 to Friday June 15.

A breakdown of the offer:

• All members will get a base level pay rise of 9 per cent (three 3 per cent rises) by August 2019.

• DHB registered nurses and midwives with more than five years' experience will get an additional 6 per cent pay rise by December next year.

• Senior members will get a 10 per cent pay increase (two 3 per cent, one four per cent rise) by August 2019.

• All part-time and causal members will get an additional lump sum payment of $2000 by next month.

• On-call allowance will increase from $4.04 to $8 per hour, $6 to $10 on public holidays, by June 2018.

• DHBs will also receive a $38 million investment which will allow an extra 500 graduate nurses to be employed effective immediately.